Relationship of gray values in cone beam computed tomography and bone mineral density obtained by dual energy X-ray
Abbas Shokri1, Mahsa Ghanbari2, Fatemeh Hafez Maleki3
1Associate Professor, Dental Implant Research Center, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Dental School, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between bone mineral density (BMD) determined with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) gray values and BMD determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
Study Design:
Women age greater than 50 years requiring CBCT for implant treatment were included in the study. BMD was determined by calculating the mean gray value of CBCT cross-sectional images of anterior, premolar, retromolar, and tuberosity areas of the mandible and maxilla. Patients were then subjected to DEXA of the femoral neck and lumbar spine. Independent t tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's correlation tests, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) evaluation were used for data analysis.
Results:
Of 61 asymptomatic patients (mean age 64 years), 47.5% and 55.7% had abnormal BMD, based on the T-scores of the femoral neck and lumbar spine, respectively. Significant correlations were noted between the T-scores of the femoral neck and lumbar spine and the gray values of the maxillary incisor and tuberosity areas.
Conclusions:
A strong correlation exists between the CBCT gray values at different sites in the maxilla and the results of DEXA. A gray value less than 298 at the maxillary tuberosity can help distinguish patients with osteoporosis from normal individuals, with 66% to 67% accuracy and suggests the need for DEXA analysis.
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